Review: Marvels (GN)

After reading Kingdom Come,  I was very eager to read the Marvel equivalent.  Marvels was the answer to that.  I had originally bought this for my friend as a Christmas gift.  He finally let me borrow it and it as worth the wait.
Marvels follows Phil Sheldon, a young man in the beginning his life and career as a photographer.  He is faced with the choice of leaving to cover WWII.  Unexpectedly, he decides to stay in NYC, following a hunch that greater things are to be seen in his home town.  Soon he finds himself witnessing the Torch escaping the cement prison he is entombed in.  Later on, a battle engulfs the city between the Torch and Namor, the Sub-Mariner. Phil begins to see how quickly the public can turn its opinion so quickly.  The books goes on as Phil is there to witness first hand the rise of the mutant menace, the attack of Galactus, and the new era of heroes.
Likes - First off, the art is done by Alex Ross.  If you aren't excited, read more comics!
The story was really fascinating.  For once, we see the world  of Marvel through the eyes of a man, an everyday man, Phil Sheldon.  We see him as we see everyone else at the beginning.  During the unveiling of the Torch, he falls into wonder, awe, and fear.  Later on, the Torch proves himself to be a champion of justice and a creature of virtue.  Soon, mutants begin coming to light.  This was the best part of the story.  Phil plays into the fear of mutants, the normal reaction at the time.  In the same day, events both professional and personal persuade Phil to see things in a different light.  Phil is us, showing us how easy it is to follow the mob and showing us the logic that we all need to follow.  Following Phil is as exciting as seeing Spider-Man foil any caper.  Phil grows so much, you can't help root for him.

Dislikes - I can't really point anything out that I didn't dislike.  This was a solid piece of work.

Overall - This was an amazing introspection into the Marvel Universe. A great read, especially for long time Marvel fans.  You see first hand what life would be like living in a world of "Marvels".  More so, we see Phil grow as a person.  From overcoming his fear of the Marvels, to understanding the reality of mutants, to recognizing that failure even comes to a super hero.  Marvels not only provides a slice of life in an amazing era, it also shows us a man becoming the person he needs to be.  That is the biggest thing you can take away from reading this graphic novel.

Review: Joe the Barbarian (graphic novel)

Joe the Barbarian is a Vertigo title from 2010.  In a list I read for best comics in 2010, this one was mentioned as being one of the top 10.   After getting some recommendations on Amazon, I decided to try this one out.

Joe the Barbarian is about Joe, a young boy with Type 1 Diabetes.  While at home during a storm, Joe's blood sugar gets dangerously low.  At this point ,Joe begins to hallucinate and falls into a fantasy world populated by familiar characters - his toys and his drawings.  As he arrives in this new world, he is believed to be "the Dying Boy", the one prophesied to save the world from Lord Death.  He blindly moves forward on a quest, whose consequences spill over into the real world.

Likes - At first, I wasn't really getting enticed reading this one.  I felt forced to get reading it.  By about half way though, on chapter 4, is when I felt compelled to move forward.  I'm not sure if I was getting to know the characters or the story but I wanted to know what was going to happen next.  The story was fun as well as tried and true.   The most fun was seeing how the hallucinations would match up with the real world, seeing Joe go back and forth constantly trying to figure out was happening.
There was a very big cast in this one.  I felt that there was just enough space and time to let each one develop in their own way  Not only did Joe eventually figure his way out, but so did the Dwarf Prince and Jack the Juggler.  I'm sure with extra issues, more time could have been spent on these guys. Still, the current length was enough to feel like a good pay off.
Lastly, I enjoyed the happy ending.  I wasn't too surprised but it tied things up nicely and left a big smile on my face
Also, my edition came in a nice neat hardcover.  Score!

Dislikes - There wasn't anything in particular that I didn't enjoy about this book.  I thought it was a fun quick read.  I am glad I did buy the collected edition and not the single issues.  I might not have thought the waiting between releases was worth it.

Overall - I think it is a very good comic.  I enjoyed it.  I am left rather blank on how to convey my thoughts though.  It was a good read for what it was, but I think there may be better books out there to spend your money.  For fans of The Lord of the Rings and the like, this is a great novel to snatch.  For others, you may not miss out on not reading this one.  Overall 3 out of 5 stars.

Review: Sweets: A New Orleans Crime Story (Graphic Novel)

Way back when this series first came out, I heard good things about it, based on the 2 comics news sources I follow.  Flash forward a few months.  Amazon recommends me this title based on previous purchases.  Remembering all the high praise and enjoying the low price, I went ahead and bought this book.

Sweets follows Curt, a man facing hard times.  His teenage daughter, Katie, was killed in a hit and run and his marriage is falling apart.  Katie was the only thing holding Curt and his wife together.  Without her, divorce is eminent.  To add to his burden, Curt, being a police detective, is on the verge of losing his job if he doesn't shape up.  In order to keep his mind occupied and distracted, he finally joins back the force in the middle of a series of murders.  At first, they all seem random and unconnected.  But the consistent discovery of pecan pralines leads the cops to see these deaths as being related.  Trying to beat the clock, Curt needs to uncover the truth behind and murders.  More so, he needs to findthe man instigating so much viciousness on his town.

Likes - I'll begin with the art.  I think  for a noir gritty crime story the art is great.  The first chapter starts off with a slew of different styles.  It was confusing.  As i read one though it started to make more sense.  Each color scheme/style depicts a state of mind or period.  The art was easy to figure out and overall helped tell the story better.
The story was another solid aspect I liked about this.  It was totally original, signs point to Seven and other entries in the genre.  For what it as though it was nice.  The story really was about Curt, trying to figure out not only how to catch the killing but dealing the fact his daughter was gone.  Honestly we barely see the killer, the focus being on Curt.

Dislikes - Just one thing that I found annoying.  My actually TPB fell about.  About half the pages just fell out in the middle of my reading annoying.

Overall - I enjoyed this book.  But it was amazing as I was expecting.  There was one twist but even that really felt expected.  The art was great but not to the point I could frame it on a wall.  It did help make this good story better. Read this if you are a fan of crime, like Law and Order. Otherwise, feel free to skip this one. 3.5 stars out of 5.